Cravings

So, as a pregnant lady, I really don't think I am having any cravings that are too weird. No ice cream and pickles, or chocolate and eggs. But, I am craving vinegar like CRAZY. I really can't get enough of it. Sometimes I even pour a little on a spoon and eat it that way. Is that weird?

Anyways, a new bloggy friend of mine, Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing, gave me a salad dressing that is just AWESOME, and I think it will now be a staple even when I am not preggo, I love it that much. In fact, it is 9:30 at night and a house full of people are over watching the Championship basketball game, eating chips and dip, and I made myself a salad with this dressing:

Balsamic Vinegar (I put a ton on), Olive Oil, and Dijon Mustard.

Can I just say Fabulous?

Among other cravings are the normal girl cravings: Baby slings, Baby items, Clothes for me, Shoes for me, Household products...for me. So far my requests for such items due to "the baby needing" them has fallen on the deaf ears of my husband. Vinegar he will entertain, a shopping spree he will not. Hmmm...apparently I will just have to keep trying the puppy dog face....

A Pain in the ....

Leg. My leg. My left leg to be specific. In my left leg, I have formed the dreaded varicose veins that I am pretty sure all pregnant women pray not to get. Let me just inform you that for me, they are every bit as painful as books describe, if not worse, simply because there is nothing I have found yet to make it GO AWAY!

Sigh.

With Little Dude, I had none of this, though I did have problems with my left leg hurting from time to time and in the end (last 2 or 3 months) it would swell up on me while my right one stayed just fine. I am wondering if it is because I am right handed? I played soccer all through high school and in college for a few years, with my right, of course, being my dominate leg, so I wonder if perhaps these problems with my left leg are simply from it not being as strong and muscular as my right?

In any case, all the dr.s I have talked to say there is nothing I can do except 1) wear some pregnancy hose which feels like it is made of wool and makes me itch and sweat because it is so thick 2) have the baby. BIG SIGH.

On an upside, the medication the dr. put me on last summer for my silent reflux has done a great job of controlling it and I have been able to swallow normally again for awhile now..yay! So, I guess I'd rather have a painful left leg as apposed to acid in my throat. I think...not being able to swallow was a pretty good diet...

Here comes Emily!

My good friends Mike and Beth went into labor a little while ago! Yay! So, lets all think good thoughts for Beth to have a smooth delivery, and tomorrow we get to meet Emily! I can't wait!

Toddler Kisses

I have decided there is nothing better than getting kisses from a toddler, well, your toddler, anyways!

Every night before bed, Bill and I have a routine with Little Dude, and in the end he has started adding "kisses" as part of it!

*We have dinner after Bill gets home, which is usually 6 or 6:30

*After Little Dude has finished decorating the wall, his hair, and his clothes with the food we thought he had be eating, we get a bath ready.

*Bath time is usually by 7:30 or 8 and even with the drought, there is really no way to NOT give Little Dude a bath. For some reason he has a love for saving food in his hair, so by bedtime you can tell what I have given him for meals and snacks. "Oh, you had cottage cheese today, eh?"

*After bath time, our Little Dude likes to run around his room with just his towel or bathrobe on while we gather his clothes and diaper supplies to an area on the floor. (Yes, I have an exhibitionist, and yes, he wiggles so much and is so strong now that I gave up on the changing pad this week-it is much safer to just change him on the floor)

*Once I have finally proven myself stronger than a toddler and gotten his diaper on, we get his PJ's on. At this point he usually starts shaking his head as he knows it is getting close to bedtime.

*So, we carry/drag our Little Dude over to his "Reading Corner" in his room and I start to brush his teeth.

*He has already decided he doesn't want to go to bed, so usually we have to hold him down to brush his teeth. However, once I am done, he insists on doing it himself, so I let him have the tooth brush while we read stories. I must say he does a decent job of actually brushing.

*After 4 or 5 stories, a bedtime prayer and some stalling, which he has gotten really good at, we put away the books and tell him to pick out friends for bed.

*This part of the routine he loves and I guess his will to fight bed time is dying as he realizes there is no stopping it. He will pick out little stuffed animal friends to throw into his crib, the regulars are his giraffe and his little red dog.

*Next, we let him turn out the hallway light and his bedroom light and then we turn on his music night light.

*At this point we say our good nights and give out hugs

*And now, Little Dude has started giving us TONS of really sloppy, open mouth kisses all over our faces. He even makes the "muaw" sound in his sweet baby voice. Then we leave and close the door; this is usually by 8:30, but sometimes 9.

*Side note, we know the kisses are probably just another stall tactic; however, it is one we don't mind holding up bedtime for because it is just so sweet, slobber and all.

Free at Last

Well guys, we have a very exciting announcement today: We just paid off my school loan and are now 100% debt free (except our mortgage). Yes, that is right! It is the greatest feeling in the whole world.

I feel we have always been really good and frugal with money, but when I got pregnant with Little Dude we started watching, listening to and closely following the advice of Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University Philosophy.

We never actually took the class, but we learned about the philosophy and put it into effect for us by reading his books. There are tons of his books in the library and his TV show comes on the Fox Business Channel around 8pm here in NC. His whole philosophy has set us on a mission, and being free of credit cards and debt in general is just so liberating! I have a link to his website below for any others that would like to check out his financial planning:

http://www.daveramsey.com

and here is a link to his blog, which you can also reach off his website:
http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs/

Sippy Cups and Baby Plates

It is Works For Me Wednesday hosted by Rocks in my Dryer! This Wednesday I am going to share my find on baby plates and sippy cups.

As a new mom, I have probably tried EVERY kind of sippy cup out there, and none have worked. ALL have leaked. Even the ones that weren't supposed to leak, Little Dude would either shake and get the stopper out (like in the Gerber kind), or find a way to unsnap the lid (like on the toss and go kind).

But last month, I decided to try again at a new kind of cup. I splurged and went for a more expensive brand that only came in character themes (which is why I had avoided them, not because I necessarily didn't like the characters, but simply because I would be SO MAD if I paid that much for a cup and it leaked).

HOWEVER, I have GREAT NEWS to share! I have found a sippy cup that DOES NOT LEAK!! It is made by Munchkin and in the Dora or Diego themes! There are some different kinds: The ones with the straws leak when shaken, and the toss and go kinds my child could get the lid off off and shake to make leak. BUT the hard spout 9oz sippy cup is FANTASTIC!! It does not leak, and even though I have even tried to get the stopper to fall out, it does not!! No leaking of any kind AND it is dishwasher safe! And all the bottoms are interchangeable with other Munchkin brand tops, and vice versa! Nice!



Munchkin also makes some baby plates and bowels that are MICROWAVABLE and Dishwasher safe. The Microwavable part is what got me! I LOVE that I can put left overs on his plate, heat them up, and give them to him all without having to use something else to cut the leftovers on or heat them up on one of our glass plates!

All other brands I have looked at don't have microwavable plates and bowls, but for the little bit of extra money (the pack of 3 Munchkin bowls and plates was .85 cents more expensive than the next cheapest bowl and plate set at my Target). For .85 cents and the ease of heating his food on one plate and then throwing it in the dishwasher, it is well worth it! They come in cute fish designs or in the Dora and Diego themes.



At my local Target, the plates and cups are in the $7.99 range, and the cups you get two in a pack and the plates you get three each of plates, bowls, spoons and forks (spoon and forks I don't think are microwave safe, just to note).


Well, that is What Works for Me! I hope my information helps other people trying out different kinds of baby dinnerware!

Wisdom

My husband and I were talking tonight and he said this gems to describe a person's character:

HONESTY is a virtue displayed when people are looking; INTEGRITY is a virtue displayed when people are NOT looking. INACTIONS can be just as character defining as ACTIONS.

How is your character defined when no one is looking?